Jiles Whitman, Azeroth's Greatest Detective
by Andramalius
Summary: When Jiles Whitman is called to case, you can be sure that things will get interesting. In this adventure, Cornelius Smit chronicles a case that took Whitman to the dwarven city of Ironforge. Think SHERLOCK HOLMES in Warcraft PLEASE REVIEW!
1. Chapter 1

Among the citizens of Stormwind, my name is unfamiliar. I served in the Azerothian Army during the First and Second Orcish war, earning medals for bravery and injury as a man of medicine. I lived a rather quiet life until the day I met Jiles Whitman. Though the circumstances of that meeting would comprise a complete narrative in and of themselves, suffice it to say my friend is not an unfamiliar name in the streets of Stormwind. He has been consulted by peasant and noble, soldier and wizard, humans and elves. His reputation is that of the most analytical mind in civilization, and after traveling with him some three years now I can affirm this claim wholeheartedly. The story I am sitting down to pen today took place nearly a year ago. It serves as an excellent example of Jiles' powers of deduction and ability to see truth in dark corners. I suppose the title for this case file should be…

_The Case of the Guilty Apprentice_

It was two weeks after Winter's Veil and the walls of Stormwind were still draped in numerous festive decorations. The citizens of our fair city are always slow in taking down their decorations. Jiles always joked that it was because they were too lazy to clean up after themselves, but I have always felt it is because the citizens of Azeroth have seen so much tragedy that we have a difficult time letting go of things that make us smile. I smiled at the decorations as I walked hurriedly down the streets to the cozy two story house of Jiles Whitman.

His housemaid, Mrs. Melin, was a widow gnomish woman whom had lost most of her family in Gnomregan's ill fated destruction. She lived on the bottom floor and doted over my friend's every need; it was a magnificent task to be sure. She was sweet in speech, but her focus was always on the care of the home and Jiles himself. She once told me she had six children and a husband in Gnomregan, and yet she still felt overwhelmed seeing to the needs of Mr. Whitman. I do not know a man of more noble character, but he expects those in his inner circle to keep up with him at all times and to not waste time questioning what he asks of them.

That morning Mrs. Melin welcomed me into the house with a beaming smile. The living room was pleasantly warmed by a blazing fire. She took my coat which was wet with snow and almost fell over with the weight of it. I had become a bit rounder in my former years, and all of my cloaks and jackets were large. Mrs. Melin was using all her strength just to hold my coat over her head in order to keep it from dragging. I bent to help her, but she would have none of it.

She shooed me back and said, "Mr. Whitman is awaiting you, Mr. Smit. Just go on up before he notices you're a few minutes late! I will dry your coat off as best I can, but I suspect you two will be off soon."

I wanted to ask her where we would be off to, but she was already walking to the next room with my coat. I turned to the stairway that led up to my friend's main study. I tried to keep the sound down as I walked up the steps, but my boots insisted on echoing my steps throughout the household.

Halfway up, I heard Jiles' voice. "Ah, Cornelius, I am sorry you have been overworked lately, but I am afraid I cannot grant you any rest if you are to accompany me today."

I finished walking up the stairway and went into his study. He was a tall man, not old but neither was he a youth. His black hair was clean but unkempt. He was sitting at his desk with his back to the doorway writing on a scroll.

I asked him, "However did you know I have been out working these last few days? I haven't talked to you in two weeks?"

He chuckled, "It's quite simple, Smit. Your boots told me."

I looked down at my boots in order to see what he meant, but there was nothing there to indicate they had said a word. "Whatever are you talking about, Whitman?"

He turned and caught me looking at my feet and laughed, "You never cease to amuse me old friend. Of course I do not mean they _actually_ spoke to me. The sound they made on the stairs was a bit deeper than it was two weeks ago."

When he saw that my expression was still confused, he explained, "Well it is really nothing special, Smit. Your leather soles have been exposed to great quantities of moisture making them softer and able to absorb more shock as you walk on my wooden stairs. This results in a deeper sound than you usually make in dry seasons. I simply deduced that if your boots have a large quantity of moisture set in them it must be because you have been in the snow quite frequently these last two weeks. Since your profession is that of a doctor, it was a simple thing to figure that you have been out visiting a high volume of patients."

I laughed. "You always make me feel so ignorant of the simple truth."

He smiled and turned to pick up and light a cigarette. He walked over to his office fireplace and stood there for a moment in thought.

He said, "My happiness to see you, my friend, is only slightly agitated by my annoyance at your tardy arrival." He took another puff on his cigarette, which made me reach for my pipe, and continued.

"We are on a tight schedule my friend, and your lateness this morning has cost you the luxury of enjoying the finer details of this case before we set out to the place of the crime."

I became frustrated; I had left my pipe at home in my own study.

I stammered out my excuse knowing it was a waste of time, but nonetheless I could not let my friend think it was mere absentmindedness that caused my lateness. "I apologize, Jiles. My wife refused to let me leave without breakfast this morning, and she told me to tell you that she would be happy to speak to you about it if you gave me any trouble!"

Jiles smiled at my wife's delivered joke. "Tell her that I am too wise to do such a thing, but do pass on some advice to her: letting her husband miss an occasional breakfast would not be detrimental to his health."

We both shared a quick laugh at this exchange (by that I mean I laughed and he continued to smile), but when he flung his half smoked tobacco into the embers I knew the time for pleasantries was over. He had a case to solve, and Jiles Whitman wanted me present so that documentation could be made.

We had to be at the Deeprun Tram in fifteen minutes in order to meet our client in Ironforge. We rushed out of his house and literally ran across the city. By the time we arrived at the Tram I was breathless and covered in perspiration. Jiles lit another cigarette once we were seated in our car.

Despite what Jiles had told me in his office, I needed to know what we were heading into.

When I asked him a moment before the tram departed he responded by saying, "Murder, Smit. And it is our task to prove or disprove the suspect's guilt."


	2. Chapter 2

Whitman was not very talkative during our journey. My natural inclination was to press him for details on the case, but years of working alongside of him had acquainted me with the distant facial expression he adopted when his brilliant mind was at work analyzing facts and theories. I knew even as he stared up at the glass tunnel the tram ran through that he was turning the merits of the case over in his thoughts. I sat there feeling quite useless, but Jiles has always been of the persuasion that my ability to be silent when need be without being told to do so was one of my greatest talents. If you can call such a thing a talent.

We arrived in the tram station of Ironforge almost an hour later. It was very busy that day and it took us some time to work through the bustling crowd of dwarven citizens. The dwarven people are not tall, but their broad shoulders make walking through a crowd of them like crawling through a quarry. A young gnome boy met us in the reception area of the city. He must have known something of Jiles because he stared at him with dark wide eyes and an indemonstrable smile. He hurried us through the cavernous city to an inn near the main office of the city guard. A cherry wood sign hung in the front of the building with the words _The Furnished Den _carved and painted prominently on it. The manager was a human that served as a liaison in the city for Jiles. Besides information, he always kept a nice room ready for Jiles' arrival. Jiles spent several minutes talking to the manager in hushed tones, he then handed him a rolled parchment. The man nodded and handed Jiles a key to the room.

It was not until we had settled into our room, had lunch, and Whitman smoked a cigarette before there was a rapping sound at our door. During this entire time Jiles had not explained any further details on the case other than what little he had told me in Stormwind. His distant expression had not abated during the course of events since we were at Ironforge and I knew that trying to ask about the case would only affect his concentration and place me in the path of his ire.

The knocking came again and Jiles said, "Captain Ajax, please come in and join us."

An older dwarf with a braided beard that hung below his waistline entered. He wore the mithril chainmail and dark blue cloak of an Ironforge city guard. More than this, I noticed he wore a gleaming badge shaped like an eagle that denoted his position as a captain of the guard. He did not sit with us, and it was obvious he did not wish to stay long by the way he huffed in the doorway.

"You sent for me, Whitman. So here I am. I thought this whole mess was done with last night!" his voice was loud enough to echo in the hallways, though I knew he was talking at his normal volume.

The volume of the dwarf captain's voice did not unsettle Whitman. "You were supposed to meet us at the hotel lobby nearly an hour ago, Captain. I sent for you because you were not there. My associate, Cornelius Smit, and I had to rush to make it to Ironforge in time to meet you at our designated time, but you were _in absentia_ when we arrived."

The captain waved a mailed fist, "Bah, I have important duties to tend to besides meeting with humans in hotel lobbies!"

Jiles mouth almost curved to a smile, "I am sorry to pull you away from _The Dragon's Gullet_ in the middle of your dice game."

The captain looked incensed, I had heard of dwarves turning red in the heat of battle before but seeing in person was frightening. He veritably shouted, "Who do you think you are to come to my city and accuse me, a captain of the Ironforge guard, of drinking and dicing while on duty?"

Whitman's knowing smile surfaced, "My deepest pardon, Captain Ajax. But you told me, or rather some things about you told me that you were engaged in those activities."

The dwarf scratched his red beard and looked utterly confused. His outburst forgotten for a moment as he tried to decipher Whitman's words, Jiles continued, "You see, my good captain, you wear a finely made satchel at your waistline, I believe that six dice of different sizes fill it. You must be a proficient player for you to have put them in such a fine bag, raptor skin is it?"

Ajax nodded slowly with a suspicious squint below his bushy eyebrows. "So I play dice, but this bag doesn't tell you that I was playing it this last hour."

"Ah, but it does Captain. There are six distinct bulges in the satchel, but there are supposed to be seven. In your haste to leave _The Dragon's Gullet_ you must have left your four sided on the table."

Ajax quickly jerked open his satchel and sifted through the contents with a large finger. His face went from angry to amused in a matter of seconds. "I'll be damned."

Without waiting for the dwarf to confirm or deny Jiles' observation, he continued. "As to your whereabouts, that was a lucky guess. _The Dragon's Gullet_ is known as the drinking hole for dwarven soldiers of rank. Since you are a captain of the guard I believed I would find you there."

Ajax seemed to forget his anger, he laughed hard enough to hurt my ears. "Har, your good, Whitman!"

The dwarf walked from the doorway to the empty chair at our table and hopped onto the seat with a thud. He reached over and grabbed our unfinished wine bottle and finished it in one gulp.

After a disgusting belch he leaned back and asked, "I'll neer know how you humans get drunk from that colored water you call wine. Anyways, what do you want to know? I caught the bloke red handed y'know?"

Jiles responded, "Captain, if you were the one that caught Kelner, then perhaps you would be kind enough to divest the details of his arrest to us."

I assumed that Kelner was name of the murder suspect.

"Hrmph, if my superiors hadn't told me to be here I would be drinkin right now."

"You will be able to do so as soon as we are done. Now the account of the arrest, if you please."

Ajax snorted and recounted the story of the arrest as follows:

"I came on me shift as usual last night. Been on the city guard about twenty years now. Nothin unusual was about on my walkthrough, just the occasional brawl that needed a bustin up, but beyond that things were nice and calm. I was makin my way through the arcane district when I heard an explosion. Now, mind ya, that's nothing unusual. Those damn gnomes blow their labs up all the time down there, so long as it is contained we don't even fine 'em. But there was something about this explosion that was different. I could just feel it in me gut. So there I was, runnin up the stairs to one of those apartments when out burst this real pretty human lass. She's got smoke trailin off of her and she has a mad look in her eyes. She was screaming something about her dead master and so I ran in where she came out of. The place was black as a miner's arse, looked like a goblin bomb went off right in the middle of it. On the floor was a nasty lookin site. Now mind you, Whitman, I fought against the Scourge few years back, so I be havin a strong stomach, but seein that twisted burnt bastard was still a hard thing to look at, the damned carpet was still on fire around the corpse. Anyways, I turn to the corner and standin there white as a sheet is Kelner. Not a mark on him. I tried to talk to em, but he wouldn't say a thing, so I took em in."

Jiles interrupted, "At which point your supervisors sent word to Stormwind, after which I was contacted."

Nodding, the Captain responded, "Aye, but no reason to send you out. He was the only one not smokin, and everyone knows a mage's spell don't hurt him none."

"Indeed, Captain. Thank you, enjoy your time off duty."

Captain Ajax jumped up from the chair and was almost out the door when Jiles called after him, "Captain, just so I am clear on all the details. Kelner was the deceased mage's apprentice, correct?"

"Aye.", the captain impatiently affirmed.

"Then that leaves only one last question, captain. Who was the young woman whose screams attracted you to the crime scene?"

"Ah, her?" said Ajax, "She was another apprentice of Chelton, new one. Her testimony is what we are condemning Kelner on. She's stayin at The Lion's Den if'n you want to talk to her."

"So she does affirm that Kelner slew his master with a fire spell?" asked Jiles with a studious expression.

Again the captain affirmed Jile's question impatiently. When Jiles nodded a farewell to him he left without another word.

Jiles placed the tips of his fingers together and closed his eyes. My familiarity with my friend told me he was analyzing every syllable and word of the captain's account. Nearly twenty minutes of silence later he opened his eyes and turned to me.

"Well, Smit, ask your questions. I know you have been holding them back until now. Your awareness of my desire for silence up to this point is a testimony to your value as a companion. Since I cannot do anything more until we visit Kelner in prison, ask what you will."

I cleared my throat nervously. Asking Jiles a question always resulted in an enlightening response, but more often than not it earned me a berating for asking something that should have been obvious to me. "Well Jiles, I suppose many of my questions were just answered by the good captain's account. Um, I suppose I am a bit curious why you were contacted about this, it seems to be an open and shut case."

"Things are not always as they seem, Cornelius."

I nodded, "And yet most times they are."

He smiled, "So you illustrate the importance of unhindered perception of the facts. No case is open and shut if proper investigation has not been made. It is sadly obvious that in this case, that investigation has not been done yet. Hence the reason my services were called upon."

"But Jiles, the only witness of the crime says he did it, and he was not affected by the explosion, which indicates that he was the caster of the spell. Two things that make a strong case against the man."

Jiles thought about my assessment of the case for a moment. He leaned back in his chair casually and tapped his foot on the carpet. "Indeed, Smit. Things look bleak for the apprentice Kelner. A witness and physical evidence are strong pieces of any case. But one thing is lacking that I must get to the bottom of."

I was beginning to feel that this case was a waste of my time. Occasionally Whitman and I went to solve crimes that were, despite what he said, open and shut. Those cases did not truly need his exceptional skills in the art of deduction. My wife was the hardest part to deal with after those cases, making me feel guilty about leaving her for needless excursions.

Thus my frustration broke through in my tone when I asked, "Well, what is it that you need to close this case? What could eliminate the fact that Kelner was the caster of the spell that killed his master, and that the witness, a victim herself, verifies he is the murderer?"

Jiles sprang from his chair and placed his hand on my shoulder, giving it a gentle but energetic shake. "Motive, Smit! I must know the motive for what it is before I can close this case. And only an interview with the accused himself will provide me with that all important piece of the puzzle!"


	3. Chapter 3

Within the hour we found ourselves in a dark cell far below the surface of Ironforge's streets. It was not a prison, at least not in the traditional sense, rather it was a small set of holding cells that were meant for criminals with arcane talents. The walls were carved with small sets of glowing runes that pulsated with different shades of color.

Jiles regarded these runes for quite some time on our way down the long thin hallway. He muttered the word "ingenious" until we passed one rune where I distinctly heard him mutter "sloppy." Jiles was not a vocational mage, but he was a student of the arcane nonetheless. His passion was in the mechanics of magic, not the evocation of it. He did not cast many spells, but he always knew from a mage's stance and words what spell was being brought forth. In _The Case of the Goblin Band_ you can read how he defeated a goblin sorceress by side stepping her spells until she was out of magical energies. He always knew which direction to step by the words she intoned her spells in. It was a remarkable fight to say the least.

After a brief word with two robes guards, humans, we walked to the end of the hallway, to an isolated cell. Kelner's face was pale and his expression depressed. He had been stripped of anything on his person that might have been magical in nature, leaving him in a simple pair of leather breeches and a coarse linen shirt. He was a young man, no older than twenty-six, but his dejected expression made him look twenty years older.

The guards, members of the newly reformed Kirin-Tor, waved their hands over the silver bars and they opened for us. We entered into the circular cell. The walls here were covered with runes. I could not begin to guess what they were meant to do, though I knew Jiles would know. There was one function of them I could tell right away, this was a magically dead area. The runes were used in the war with the Burning Legion to counteract attacks from the Eredar, the Legion's magic wielding soldiers, on major cities. They siphoned magic off the way a crack in the earth drinks rain water. Kelner, or whoever else was imprisoned here, could not use their magical talents to escape.

The young apprentice looked at us with a haggard and tired expression. He had no doubt been questioned extensively, and did not appear to be in the mood for more.

Whitman plopped down next to him on his bench. I was surprised when he pulled a small flask of liquor from his inside cloak and passed it to Kelner. After a moments hesitation, he drank it quickly and thanked Jiles curtly.

At length, Jiles began his interview, "Kelner, my name is Jiles Whitman, and this is my esteemed partner Cornelius Smit. We have come here at the behest of the Stormwind authorities to look into your case."

A smile flickered to life on Kelner's face, but it did not stay for long. "Seems my uncle still has connections in Stormwind."

Jiles put his hand on the young man's shoulder, "More than your uncle, young man. You are well respected among your peers. Your reputation as a capable mage and loyal Azerothian supersedes your current situation."

"Ah, but that does little to exonerate me from the crime I've been accused of, Mr. Whitman."

"That remains to be seen, my friend. Tell me everything and I shall do all I can to help you, for I believe in the possibility of your innocence."

This statement had a visible effect on Kelner. His smile managed to surface and his shoulders were not as slumped as they had been when we first entered. This was the conversation we had with him in that cell:

"Well, before I begin my account, you must first know something of my origin and how I came to be an apprentice to Master Chelton. I was born in Stormwind twenty-five years ago. My mother and father were simple folk. My dad was a leatherworker and my mother stayed at home and cared for me and my sisters. But my uncle, my mother's brother, was and is another story completely. He has always had an amazing talent as a mage and from his earliest years he has been an invoker of the arcane. He worked his way up over the years in the order of the Kirin-Tor. It is his benevolence and affection that I accredit to my own acceptance in the order. Though I lack his natural affinity to the art, I took to the subject quickly and became proficient in my own time. It was always a dream of mine to be my uncle's apprentice, but such a thing is forbidden in our order."

"Indeed, the Mazfif murders ended that practice some time ago." Whitman briefly interrupted.

"Yes, well, that put me in the hands of a special apprenticeship committee and soon I found myself in the smoke filled city of Ironforge. I must be honest, Mr. Whitman, if not for the fast travel of the tram system I would go crazy living here under a mountain. My master, Chelton Herthshire, was good enough to me, if not distant. All mages within the order are required to take an apprentice, you see. I don't think Master Chelton was ever truly fond of having a young novice placed in his care. He taught me the basics, and used me for different tasks, but he was always eager to give me leave for weekend excursions to Stormwind."

"Tell me about last night, and we shall return to the nature of your relationship with your master in a moment." Jiles said.

Nodding, he continued, "Last night I was sleeping in my chamber when I heard the voice of Master Chelton in the main room of our living quarters. He sounded agitated about something, so I rose and put my ear to the door. He was apparently arguing with Syllene about something, but what they could be arguing about in the middle of the night, I cannot say. I could not hear her voice, but I know it was her he was talking to."

"Talking or yelling, Kelner?"

"Alternating between the two, Mr. Whitman. There was a long stretch of silence, though I knew they must both have still been there as I heard no footsteps leading away. I felt a strong need to go check on things, so I left my chambers to investigate."

Kelner stopped talking. Several moments passed and Kelner did not finish his story.

Jiles prompted him, "What did you see?"

Kelner blinked several times, "Oh, uh, nothing. That's the strange thing. Next thing I knew I was standing in the room over my master's charred corpse and Syllene was running out of the room screaming. I was quickly arrested by a passing dwarven guard and brought here. This is the extent of what I recall."

Jiles pondered the account for several moments. I knew he was searching every syllable, every nuance of every word for clues and contradictions.

He finally asked another question, "This Syllene, how long had she been under Chelton's tutelage, and what was your teacher's general attitude towards her?"

An angry look crossed Kelner's face, "Horrible, sir. She had only been with us a week, yet Chelton was an ogre in his manners and in his way of speaking to her. He called her names and commanded her to do the most menial tasks. I also suspected he was forcing her into his bedchamber. I couldn't stand it. She is a lovely girl and of the sweetest manner. I had planned to tell my uncle about it on my next trip to Stormwind, so that Syllene could be re-assigned."

"So at the time of the murder, your master was not in your good graces?" I ventured to ask. Whitman threw me an annoyed expression and I quickly averted my eyes.

"Well, Mr. Smit. I was never overly fond of him. He was reclusive, and his understanding of the art was only cursory. He seemed unwilling to teach me more than the basics, and for this I never liked him. His treatment of Syllene was merely icing on the cake of his uncouth nature. I would never murder a man for that reason, but I will say I am glad he is gone."

"Egads, man! Quiet yourself!" exclaimed Whitman. Do you not realize your life hangs on a precipice at this very moment? Do not, I repeat to you, do not express these emotions to anyone else that may come to interview you, lest they take your honesty and weave it into a hellish caricature of your true self. Do you understand me?"

This took Kelner back a bit, "Yes sir, I understand."

"Good, now before Mr. Smit and I go on our way to continue the investigation, I need clarification on a couple points. You mentioned that your master often sent you away for the weekend, tell me, this weekend, the one before his death, was it such a weekend?"

"Yes it was, what does that have to do with anything?"

"Perhaps nothing," Jiles said, "or perhaps everything. Did you have permission to return to Stormwind this upcoming weekend?"

"Why yes, I did? But…"

"One more question," Jiles interrupted, "Had you told anyone about your intentions to report Chelton's behavior?"

Kelner thought hard on that question for a minute. "No sir, I had dropped a hint to Syllene to remain strong and things would be made right in their time, but it was no more than that."

Jiles stood up and I followed his example. "Rest easy Kelner, your innocence will be upheld so long as my powers of deduction do not fail me."

"Your reputation is known to me, Mr. Whitman. I have confidence that if anyone can help me it is you."

After this, we quickly departed from the prison.


	4. Chapter 4

I was shocked as we entered the streets of Ironforge when Jiles started speaking to me about the case almost immediately. I was shocked because his habit was to mull over new information for quite some time before he would openly discuss his theories with me.

"I say, Smit. It is an interesting case to say the least!"

I shook my head in confusion, "I don't see how so, Whitman. The man is as guilty as sin if you ask me."

Whitman laughed wholeheartedly at my assessment, "Well then, good for Kelner you do not sit on the judgment seat."

"You believe that he did not burn his teacher to death?" I asked incredulously.

Again the same laugh, "Oh, of course he did Smit that much is obvious!"

"So the case is closed?"

"Oh far from it, my friend, far from it. That is what separates this case from most; the crime may not be a crime after all."

I had no clue in that moment what Whitman meant, so I let him chuckle and mumble to himself. I spoke again only to ask him where we were going. He responded that a cursory glance at the crime scene would be helpful to strengthen his theory, after that we would need to start preparing ourselves. It did not make sense to me, but then Jiles never did make sense at first glance.


	5. Chapter 5

The crime scene was as both Ajax the guard and Kelner had described it. It was a modest apartment in the arcane district of the city. Such apartments were expensive, but magic users tended to be wealthy enough to afford such accommodations. The apartment was furnished with a few bare necessities, thick walls, and some runes carved into the walls that Jiles informed me were simple and meant only to provide basic protections to the tenants of the apartment, nothing as elaborate as the runes we saw in the magical holding cell. Chelton Herthshire's apartment was sparsely decorated, and the few niceties that had once decorated the den were charred and burnt now. Everything in the den was covered in soot and ashes. The smell of burnt flesh still clung to the air like a disease, I quickly put a handkerchief to my nose.

If the smell bothered Whitman he did not show it in the least. He moved about the apartment in a hurried manner, as if time were running out. He picked over the black remains of the room with his walking cane and made a quick pass through the adjoining rooms. There must not have been anything of consequence there because he quickly returned to the den.

Something caught his eye. "Your kerchief, Smit, quickly!"

I was a little stunned at his request, but I thought the smell must at last be bothering him since he asked so suddenly for my handkerchief. I handed it to him and looked in shock as he pushed it to the ground and quickly ruined the fine white silk by pushing it back and forth across the ashy floor. Soon enough a smeared image could be seen on the floor, but the soot was too thick to make it out.

"Get a bowl of water, Smit, I saw one on the kitchen counter."

I ran to fulfill his request, and soon returned to the room with the large clay bowl filled with what must have been the household wash water for the next morning. Without a word to me, Whitman leapt up from the floor and took the bowl from my hands. He unceremoniously scattered the water across the ashes and soot on the floor, washing away a large portion of the blackness in the process.

Underneath the ashes of the carpet an intricate design was drawn. It was made with some type of purple paint that had obviously been painted by a skilled hand. More impressive than that, the paint had not been marred with the fire save that it had been obscured by the ashes of the rug.

Whitman studied it for a moment and frowned deeply. "I believe that being correct about a theory has not given me the satisfaction it normally would, my friend. The implications of these markings are grave."

"What do you mean?" I asked with concern etched on my expression.

"No time, Smit. We must be quick or all will be lost!" With this he dashed out the door at a full sprint and I soon followed.


	6. Chapter 6

We did not travel far.

Three blocks into the arcane district, Jiles turned a left and I soon found myself in a rather dark and cold alley. A single window projected a small bit of firelight from it that hung like a golden beam in the darkness surrounding us. Jiles entered a wooden door next to the window.

Though there was no sign outside, on the inside I found a rather disturbing shop of the most obscure and, yes I must admit, revolting merchandise. The curator of this shop obviously dealt with dark magic, so it was no wonder he stuck his shop out of sight from the rest of the district. Jiles approached the apparent owner as soon as the door closed behind us. He was a stooped over human whose age was not determinable, but elderly would have been an understatement. He seemed to know Jiles and smiled a toothless grin at him when we entered. I chose to stay near the door as Jiles had his conversation with him. I kept my eyes mainly on my shoes, the jars of eyeballs and insects were wrecking havoc on my already weakened stomach. I could still hear their conversation from where I stood.

"Ah, Jeng'shaun, it has been too long!"

"Indeed," breathed out the old man as if the word was laborious, "not since you needed my help with that possession two winters ago."

"Ah yes, Madam Singred had murdered her family after wearing that cursed pendant she bought from a strange peddler. I was happy to see her freed of the charges.

"What happened to her after the Stormwind authorities set her free?" the old man asked with a childish glint in his eye.

Jiles cleared his throat, "She is dead. Suicide I am afraid to say."

"It is a shame." Jeng'shaun's voice did not sound sorrowful in the least.

"In any case, it is for a different reason I am here now, may we speak in the back?"

"Certainly, Jiles. Follow me." With this they disappeared through a curtain of black and white beads.

I wanted to follow, but Jiles had not invited me. I was very confused at this moment, for as soon as the old man had mentioned possession my mind had been filled with the assumption that this was what we were dealing with. How else could the apprentice Kelner be guilty but innocent at the same time? But, Jiles had said we were here "for a different reason". I waited about five minutes before Jiles returned with two alchemy bottles, each filled with a deep red liquid.

"One last stop, Smit. If all goes well we will not be late for supper."

"If things do not go well?" I asked.

"Well, supper will be the least of our worries then." He replied.


	7. Chapter 7

The one last stop was actually two. We stopped at _The Dragon's Gullet _first. Jiles went to a young gnomish lad standing near the doorway and passed a silver coin into his hands. He whispered some instructions and the lad ran off. When we spotted him at a dice table, it was obvious Captain Ajax had been drinking for quite some time. He was quite furious when Whitman asked him to come with us to help close the case.

"Close the case! Bah, unless Kelner escaped then we already gots it closed!"

"Not quite, captain. There may be more to this crime than what first looks revealed." Jiles calmly replied.

"I ask you to trust me Captain. Your reputation proceeds you even in Stormwind, and I know you are a dwarf that wants true justice to be done."

This little bit of praise resulted with Ajax puffing his chest out. He stroked his beard for a minute as he thought about Jiles' request.

"Bah, all right, but this better be worth my time, and your paying me for overtime out of yer own durned pocket!


	8. Chapter 8

Our true last stop was _The Lion's Den_. It was a decent little inn frequented by humans staying in the city. In the lobby, Jiles and I drank the dark red potion. It was a bitter draught that made me feel a little dizzy when I finished it. Jiles said that it would be great help in questioning Ms. Syllene, though he would not elaborate further.

"H'come I don't get a sip of it then?" asked Ajax with a slightly slurred voice.

"Because, captain, I believe the tonic you have been enjoying at _The Dragon's Gullet_ will keep you safe from the danger of this young…lady."

He gasped the word "lady". I had never heard Jiles gasp before.

He was staring behind Ajax and me, looking slightly over our heads. I turned around and the captain followed my example. We turned to what had caught Jiles' gaze. It was Syllene, it couldn't have been anyone else. Though human, she would have been beautiful even by Elven standards. Her long and lustrous black hair fell across her shoulders like a shimmering black cloak. She wore a crimson silk dress with a white belt; on her it looked like the sort of outfit a noblewoman would wear, though Syllene herself was supposed to be a lowly apprentice. She moved with dexterity and grace as she took each step. Her dark eyes met mine momentarily and I could hardly think of anything other than her presence. Jiles and I were content to stare, but Captain Ajax (possibly because of his intoxication) whistled loud and long.

"'Lo there lassie, my my, you look good enough to ea-"

"That will be enough, Captain Ajax!" Jiles interrupted. "Please madam, join us."

She came down to the lobby where the three of us continued to stare. She smiled a very catching smile at each one of us and curtsied. All three of us gave a bow and no one said a word. After an akward silence wherein Syllene smiled patiently, Jiles introduced himself and me (she already knew Captain Ajax). After that he fell into looking at her again with a serene expression on his face. I believe I must have had the same expression on mine. Words cannot describe how pleasing this young woman was to the eyes.

After what seemed like minutes she gave a polite cough and said, "Your message said you needed to confirm my version of the events, Mr. Whitman. Is that all you needed?"

Jiles shook his head suddenly as if he just realized where we were. "Yes, Ms. Syllene. That is what I am here for after all, please recount what happened at your master's home the night of the murder and we will be on our way."

She nodded as he spoke and began her tale as soon as he finished.

"It is as I told the kind captain here. I was being instructed by Master Chelton in a spell when Kelner burst into the room with an angry look in his eyes. He said that I belonged to him and that Master Chelton could never have me. We barely had any time at all to react to the fireball he flung at us. Chelton pushed me aside and absorbed the whole blast himself. I looked up to see him burning…I couldn't help myself, I started screaming. My only thought was to get away before he did the same to me! Luckily the good captain was nearby and came to my aid." A tear snaked down her cheek as she spoke of Chelton's death.

Something strange happened to me as she spoke. The more I heard her voice, the less my infatuation with her grew. By the time she was done speaking my initial assessment of her had been greatly diminished. She was still an attractive young lady, but her hair was a bit stringy and her dress worn and dirty. Her eyes remained dark but lost their seductive edge, replaced instead by an almost sinister inner light.

I also found problems with her account of the story. Kelner had said he heard arguing, not a spell lesson. And why would they be learning a spell in the middle of the night? Also, if Kelner's motivation for killing Chelton was jealousy over Syllene, why did he throw a fireball at her as well? I did not utter my questions out loud, as I knew Jiles would ask them soon enough. Thus, I was a bit surprised at his next question.

By the way he looked and spoke I could tell his admiration of the girl had diminished as well, "How did you manage to kill your master? It defies the Laws of Summoning."

Syllene took a step back. "L-like I said, Kelner did it, not I."

"Speak the truth!" Jiles' voice carried across the lobby. I noticed that Jiles held a small glowing stone in between his fingers as he yelled.

Her expression became pained, and I could swear I saw a red light glinting in her eyes. Her voice sounded deeper than it had a moment before, "The fool Chelton did not place a subservian mark on his circle! I still could not harm him directly, but I could choose whom to enspell to do it for me!"

She waved her hands in an intricate pattern and a warm sensation fell over me. For a moment all of my previous feelings about her came back multiplied a hundredfold. I would have killed for her, I would have died for her. But another sensation arose inside of me to counter it, a cooling sense of logic overcame my passion and brought me back to my senses. I was no novice to magic, the woman had tried to charm me and Jeng'shaun's potion had stopped her.

"_Chalintok Forthinion!"_ Jiles yelled. He threw what appeared to be dust at her and she screamed in agony.

Her skin bubbled and popped and her face contorted as acrid smoke began trailing off of her. Soon the beautiful young lady was replaced by what I knew to be a succubus. Her smooth tan skin was now pale and chalky. Her shapely legs now sported fur covered shins and cloven hooves. Two leathery wings stretched from her back filling up the space of the lobby. Her face was frightening to behold, razor sharp teeth snapped from behind ruby red lips and her eyes were glowing a bright blood red. As if to top the hellish picture off, two thick and twisted ram horns protruded from her forehead. Jiles had dispelled her cunning disguise.

I did not see him draw it, but Jiles suddenly had a shining curved sword in his hands. He pointed the tip at her and took a step forward. There was no mistaking his intentions.

She laughed at him. "Foolish mortal! You may have caught me in my game, but you will not send me back to the Twisting Nether! Ajax, defend me!"

I hate it when Jiles is wrong about something, it always causes us trouble when it happens. In this case his assumption that Ajax would not need some of Jeng'shaun's elixir was incorrect. The muscled dwarf turned to face us with a blank expression in his face. His knuckles were white on his axe as he swung it at us. Quick wits alone saved us as we dashed into opposite sides of the room to avoid the attack. I hate it when Jiles is wrong.

Ajax turned all his attention to Jiles as Syllene ran up the stairs. "Smit! You must follow her, do not let her get out of a window or all is lost!"

Swoosh!

Jiles dodged another strike from Ajax. I wanted to stay and argue, telling Jiles I had nothing but a pocket knife on me and that I would be no match for the succubus, but he was too busy to listen and so I ran after her sure that I was about to die.

She had pulled a table over in the upstairs hallway, and I jumped over it as lithely as I could. My bones groaned in protest but I cleared the debris and ran down to the only open door in the hall. It looked like it had been knocked off its hinges.

Inside the room, Syllene was smashing out the only window. I had no clue what to do in order to stop her. I reached over and picked up a piece of broken door and flung it at her as hard as I could. I missed horribly and the wood clanked harmlessly off the wall.

I did succeed in getting her attention though. She turned and looked at me with a frightening smile on her face.

She purred, "So Mr. Smit, it seems Mr. Whitman has sent you to my hotel room, whatever shall we do with our privacy?"

For a moment my desire for her returned stronger than before. A loud crash from downstairs and a muffled cry snapped me back to my senses. She was walking towards me languidly, a leather whip ominously trailing behind her.

I fell backwards as the lash suddenly darted at my face. I avoided the first strike but a second and third followed too fast for me to retreat. The leather tore through my suit and skin. The blows hurt like fire and my vision became blurry as the wounds festered with demonic taint. I did not see her approach, but soon she was picking me up by my collar with a strength that belied her feminine form. She was a demon after all.

She slammed me against the wall hard enough to knock me unconscious. My last thoughts as darkness surrounded me were for my wife, and how badly Whitman would get it from her when Whitman went to inform her of my demise.


	9. Chapter 9

I do not know how long I was unconscious. When I finally awoke I was firstly aware of the fact that I was alive and secondly aware of a splitting headache. I looked around me and was surprised to see there was no sign of Syllene. The window was broken and the furniture was still knocked about, but there was no sign of her beyond this. I sat up too quickly and the pain rushed through my head until my temples throbbed.

When I finally composed myself I managed to walk over to the window, not quite sure what I would see. There below me were a group of Ironforge guards talking amongst themselves quite jovially. There was raucous laughter and my eyes settled on the center of it…Jiles Whitman. He made a stab with an imaginary blade and feinted to the side. This drew more laughter as Jiles finished his demonstration with a hardy clap onto the shoulder of one of the guards, Captain Ajax. The captain grimaced when Jiles touched his arm, but he smiled as he did so.

I called down, "Whitman! What in the Nether is going on around here?"

He looked up at me surprised, "So good you are awake, Smit! I'll be right up!"

He said his farewell to the dwarves and came up to the room posthaste.

He entered the room with a broad grin and lively expression on his face. "How are you my friend? Lucid I see!"

"Lucid, certainly Whitman, tell me what happened man, where is the demon?"

"Be specific Smit. You mean where is the succubus?"

I nodded impatiently, which only worsened my headache. His response was to tell me what transpired after I was slammed against the wall.

"I suppse the first thing I should tell you, Smit, is that I suspected a succubus after our interview with Kelner. He was obviously the caster of the spell, but as I told you before there was not enough motive for the crime. It is true that he did not like his teacher, but that is hardly a reason for a promising upcoming mage to throw the rest of his life away for murder. I knew something must have compelled him to do it."

"So you knew it was a succubus then?"

"No. A succubus was just one of multiple possibilities at that moment. It was after we uncovered the markings on the apartment floor that I knew for sure. As you know, Smit, one of my many hobbies is the study of runes. The markings on the floor were conducive to a demonic summoning. Knowing what we did about the nature of the compelled crime, I simply followed the facts to a logical conclusion."

"So the potion we took was some type of protection against her charming powers?"

"Of course Smit, that much should be plain to you without having to ask me. I did not think that Ajax would need a potion of his own since dwarves have a natural resistance to charming magic, intoxication also dampens the effects. Unfortunately Captain Ajax is quite fond of human women, which made him much more susceptible than the average dwarf. He fell under her charms quite easily, much to my dismay, and became quite willing to defend her."

"How did you manage to stop him, Jiles? You're quite the swordsman, but against a seasoned dwarf…"

Jiles waved his hands at my statement, "It is of no consequence really. I managed to put some space between him and I and when he charged I dodged to the side. He hit the wall at full speed knocking a shoulder out of joint. The pain must have knocked him back to his senses, because he did not rise to attack me again.

"When I was done with Captain Ajax I rushed upstairs to come to your aid. I must have entered a second after she had knocked you out because she was dropping you to the floor unceremoniously as I entered."

I felt the lump on my head as Jiles reminded me of what had happened.

"In any case, she must have thought to dispatch me just as effortlessly as she had done so to you. She cracked that vicious little whip at me with abandon and seemed set on tearing the skin from my bones…I think she said as much."

I interrupted, "What did you do, Jiles?"

"Well, I dispatched of her of course."

I stared at the man in disbelief. As I stated before, he is a capable swordsman though no warrior, and he even dabbles a little with the arcane, though he is no mage, but to "dispatch" a demon from the Burning Legion would take more than a dabbler. My thoughts must have shown on my face because Jiles' grin turned to a frown.

"Smit, when have I ever gone into a fight wherein I knew my opponent and not been adequately prepared to deal with said opponent? Do you not recall the ogre-magi at Westfall? Or the banshee haunting in Goldshire?"

I felt ashamed. In both of those cases, and many others, Jiles had beaten opponents of great power using his wits and skill. "Aye, Whitman, my apologies for what I said."

Waving his arms as if pushing back something odious in the air, "Never mind it Smit. I shall tell you how I dispatched of the succubus and then we shall go enjoy some warm tea. When I took you to Jeng'shaun's it was to purchase a very expensive and potent elixir that places a barrier over the mind. It lasts for about six hours, and when it wears off we will both have legendary headaches, but I believe the investment was worth it, wouldn't you say?"

The idea of a magically induced headache on top of the one I then possessed made me groan inwardly, "Indeed, a good investment."

"Well, it was not the only investment I made." He produced a small dull dagger from his pocket. "I purchased this weapon to deal with the old girl."

"What is special about it?" I asked.

"Well, beyond the enchantment Jeng'shaun placed on it, nothing at all. It is enchanted to do harm those with demonic blood in their veins."

Everything made sense to me now, but one thing. "But Jiles, how in the Great Sea could such a tiny blade, enchanted or not kill a full sized opponent. That little dagger only looks good for skinning rabbits!"

"Like all tools, Smit, it is effective only if used effectively. I threw it into her throat. She stared at me in disbelief for a minute, but with her lifeblood flowing out she soon disintegrated into nothingness. It is a good thing Captain Ajax came, otherwise we would have no way of clearing Kelner's name."

I had almost forgotten about Kelner in the insanity of the last two hours. "So she charmed Kelner into killing Chelton in order to gain her freedom in our world?"

"Yes, Smit. And a murder under a charm spell is not a murder at all. The perpetrator cannot be any more responsible for their actions than a puppet is responsible for the movements the puppeteer puts it through."

"How did she come to be here? In Ironforge nonetheless!"

Jiles lit up a cigarette and went to the open window. I reached for my pipe and remembered it was back home.

"I believe," Whitman said, "that Chelton was no longer a faithful member of the Kirin-tor. Ever since Kel'Thuzad betrayed the order to work for the Lich King there have been a number of his followers left behind. Some of them have been caught, others have not. I believe that Chelton was one of those agents."

"That's incredible! A warlock for the Scourge right here in Ironforge?"

"It appears so, my friend. I believe Chelton grew tired of waiting for orders from Kel'Thuzad and summoned a succubus to keep his mind occupied. The fool was too proud to realize that it is more dangerous to sleep with a succubus than it is to pet a Felbeast. His power to control her was greatly lessened the first time he took her to his bedchamber. She used her guise as Syllene to plan his death using Kelner. With her master dead she could wreck havoc on the mortal world. That is until you and I came along."

I smiled sheepishly, "Oh yes, Jiles. My near death experience helped the Alliance out greatly."

"But it did, Smit!" He threw the half smoked cigarette out the window and walked over to me. "If you had not kept her occupied while I dealt with Ajax, she could have taken flight and it would have been impossible to track her down. Who knows how many lives were saved tonight because of you?"

His adulation made me feel better. "Thank you, Jiles. Now, I believe you said something about tea?"

"Well that or we have been invited to join Ajax and the city guard at _The Dragon's Gullet_."

I grinned despite my headache. "No, Whitman. I believe tea will do just fine."


End file.
